When it comes to budget drones under £30 you are usually looking at toy level or entry beginner kits to get started with flying drones, one such quadcopter we found under the £30 mark was the VN5 Harrier drone from Hawkin’s Bazaar.

Out of the box

The VN5 Harrier comes near enough ready to fly out of the box complete with a controller, attachable leg stands, camera and four spare props. Also included is a manual. The controller will need 3 AAA batteries.

First impression removing theVN5 from the packaging is how light this quadcopter is, weighing in at around 80grams with the battery and camera makes this very lightweight for its size. Secondly, the matt finish on the plastic gives a nice quality feel over a typical shiny gloss finish which can sometimes make the plastic look cheap on some lower end drones, the turquoise logo and props also look very nice against the matt black.

Prop guards come as standard already fitted to the VN5 when first unboxing, these are also removable via one little screw per guard giving the option to fly with or without them, although we would recommend they are present while flying indoors or when taking up for the first time as a beginner.

The controller comes with the same turquoise colour scheme, although it is a little on the small side at 8 x 11cm it is slightly larger than some we have previously tested on lower entry drones such as the Eachine E010.

Once the drone and controller are out of the box the 4 feet included just snap straight on.

First Flight

Syncing the controller with the VN5 drone was very simple and synced first time by pushing the left lever up and then back down, the controller will beep once the VN5 and controller are paired, the drone is then ready to take off, The controller is set up in mode 2 (left stick throttle) the left stick is horizontally spring loaded while the right stick is fully spring loaded.

VNH Harrier drone 0.3MP In flight capture

Once in the air, the VN5 Harrier is quite stable and easy to handle, the controller is very user-friendly for children and beginner drone enthusiasts, the features of the controller make it very easy to perform one button tricks, such as a preset flip function.

As many quadcopters before it the VN5 hosts three-speed settings, you can set the throttle to 40, 60, or 100%. the beginner mode kept the drone stable with less sensitivity on the sticks, while at 100% made the drone much more agile and responsive, a very good feature to help adapt as you improve flying skills. You also have trim buttons to really get a locked in and stable feel.

The camera has two function buttons on the controller for video and photo selection, there is a memory card slot to save footage but this is not included.

The Video

The video resolution was much better than previously anticipated, the resolution itself is at 640 x480. While photo caption comes out as 0.3MP.

Do not expect to much from the resolution but it certainly is not bad for a toy class drone, especially as many in this price range can come without a camera or with even lower resolution.

The video footage itself is good for its spec but can leave video footage looking jumpy and grainy in just slight windy conditions, this is usually standard for most toy drones this light and without a gimbal.

This said the drone performed best indoors and outside with little to no wind. The camera is also detachable, this gives you to option to fly without it to gain longer battery life.

Verdict

Flying the VN5 is good fun and certainly a great option for anyone looking to learn the pure basics of how to fly a quadcopter, the prop guards allow for safer use for children and indoor flight.

The drone is not great at handling wind due to how light it is, but a windless summer day or a open indoor space would put the lightweight frame to a better advantage.

A slight negative could be that the VN5 Harrier comes without any internal memory or a micro SD card but the fact it does actually have a micro SD slot means you do have the option to view footage with ease on your media devices.

Regarding the battery, we achieved an average of 5 minutes flight time flying outdoors at 100% performing tricks and six minutes flying indoors with just hovering. The battery does take quite a while to charge at around a 120 minutes but a positive about the battery itself is the fact that it is not built into the drone but removable, this gives you the option to buy additional batteries for longer fun. The battery is 3.7v 350mah and is widely available with a search online. (You do not need to remove the camera to get to the battery) Simply apply slight pressure to the camera while opening the battery tray and pop open.

As mentioned before the camera is 640 x480, for a toy class drone it fairs up ok, keeping in mind that this is aimed at cheap fun with the family and not for drone photography. The recomended age is 14+

In all, we give the VN5 Harrier drone from Hawkin’s Bazaar a thumbs up based on the features, ease of use and competitive price! ideal for family fun or as a low end beginner drone to see what all the fuss is about without breaking the bank.